MT. ST. HELENS VOLCANIC ERUPTION MAY 1980

1)      A volcanic eruption occurred on Mt. St. Helens in Washington State’s Cascade mountain range on May 18, 1980.

 

2)      On the morning of 18 May, 1980, a 5+ earthquake initiated the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, which in turn caused the northern flank of the mountain to collapse. The largest landslide in recorded history buried 14 miles of the North Fork Toutle River with trees, rocks, and earth averaging 150 feet deep. Some places were recorded as deep as 600 feet of debris. The powerful blast blew down over 4 billion board-feet of timber, and spread volcanic debris over 230 square miles. On the southern half of the mountain, lahars(mudflows) flowed down through gullies and rivers. The blast, volcanic avalanche, and Lahars caused extensive damage to the human environment as well as the physical environment. All manmade structures within the locality of Spirit Lake were completely buried. Over 200 houses and cabins were destroyed along with recreational sites, roads, bridges, and trails. Fifeteen miles of railroad tracks, and approximately 185 miles of paved roads highways were damaged or completely destroyed.  Fifty seven people lost their lives from the volcanic eruption, mostly from asphyxiation from inhaling hot volcanic ash, and some of the victims died from thermal and other injuries according to autopsies. The Washington State Department of game estimated that 7,000 bear, elk, and deer perished in the immediate affected area, as well as all birds and a majority of smaller mammals. The Washington Department of Fisheries estimated that 12 salmon fingerlings were killed, which could have produced nearly 360,000 adult Chinook and Coho salmon.

Downwind from the volcano, many crops were destroyed such as alfalfa, wheat, potatoes, and apples.

 

 

Stand of timber in the "tree-down" zone north of Mount St. Helens devastated by the lateral blast. The downed trees were salvaged as quickly as possible before the wood began to rot. Note the two people (circled) in lower right (Photograph by Lyn Topinka).

3)      The importance of the Mt. St. Helens eruption cannot be understated by today’s volcanologists. That single eruption did more than any other volcanic eruption in history since it was the first large explosion to be studied by scientists. That in turn led to advances in volcano science. New and advanced monitoring systems were invented due to Mt. St. Helens being easily accessible and could be recorded and photographed from many angles. The open cone also has let scientists peak inside the volcano and understand more about the mountain than ever before. Scientists from all over the world joined together to study the eruption. Before Mt. St. Helens, most scientific fields in the study of volcanoes worked separately and there was little coordination. Now 40 years later it is typical for biologists, geologists, hydrologists, seismologists, geochemists, and geophysicists to coordinate and combine their studies of natural science processes into a unified research and communication. The science of volcanoes has gone from a few monitoring pieces of equipment at the source of the volcano, to using GIS, LIDAR, satellite images, and photogrammetry. These advances in technology can now detect inflation and deflation of volcanoes down to the centimeter in real time. Using these advanced systems, scientists are starting to develop advanced warning systems around the globe to detect future eruptions. With the technology in 1980, and few volcanoes being studied with modern equipment, most experts agree that little more could have been done to mitigate the impacts of the eruption at Mt. St. Helens. It is BECAUSE of the eruption at Mt. St. Helens that scientists know what they now know and can try to minimize the risk to the public for future volcanic eruptions around the globe.  

 

 

              Forty years after the blast: next generation continues Mt. St. Helens research

                                                            News.wsu.edu

 

The link to the video below depicts illustrations from today’s scientists, with modern technology, explaining the cause of devastation of the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens. Included in the 4 ½ minute video is actual footage of the eruption as it is taking place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYla6q3is6w

 

SOURCES

https://www.usgs.gov/news/mount-st-helens-1980-eruption-changed-future-volcanology

https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/StHelens

http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/MSH/Publications/FS036-00/framework.html

https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/msh/impact.html https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/26/us/mount-st-helens-fast-facts/index.html

https://www.cnn.com/2013/07/26/us/mount-st-helens-fast-facts/index.html

https://www.fs.usda.gov/pnw/projects/mount-st-helens#:~:text=create%20new%20habitats.-,At%20Mount%20St.,insects%2C%20plankton%2C%20and%20plants.

https://www.history.com/topics/natural-disasters-and-environment/mount-st-helens